YouSaid · the spoken record

Joey Shamah

lines on the record: 114
first: 2026-06-29
most recent: 2026-06-29
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“So, I think when you get lucky and when you have the desire to be successful, that's when you will be successful. So I go back to that elevator story I gave you a little earlier, that when my father said, like, this is it, you either figure it out or you pack up and go home. I didn't manufacture that Bloomingdale's email, but I could have tried to. But it doesn't mean I would have been successful. You can't wait for luck and you can't manufacture opportunity. But when that luck is there, you got to take advantage of it. Come hell or high water.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think when we created the brand in 2002 and 2003 and 2004, our biggest obstacle was how are we going to get space in a retail environment controlled by four guys? I think today, now it's how are you going to own the most amount of attention from the consumer on Instagram, Snapchat, and Meta. So could I have done it today? Probably. Would it look different? Definitely. Do I have the tenacity and goal to do it again? Probably not. I wouldn't start a business at this point of my career. I think buying a business is a much easier entry. But I think if I was a young entrepreneur and I needed to cut through the clutter, a thousand percent if you're creative and committed, you can find a way to do it.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, you've got this is what you focus on. Going back to elf, it's amazing. I mean, it could have, you know, you could have sold it, walked away, and we've done, we've done beauty counter, we've done some other brands that once they sold, it went downhill. The opposite happened with ELF. It grew and grew and grew. I mean, I think I just checked their market cap. It's like $3.8 billion. I mean, it's a big company. It's doing really, really well. Do you think that how you started this brand in 2002 and really launched in 2004, you could recreate the playbook today?”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think when you look at the retail environment, there's so much clutter out there, so any point of differentiation is valuable. So when you have a brand like Guest or Fila that you've grown up with, like Ribak, you remember those pump-up shoes from the 80s, right? Of course, I have. So that's something that cuts through the clutter and allows you to stand out, as well as gives the customer confidence that this is a brand and that there's...”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes. So when we bought the business, it was a downtrending business, but it was still a business. And now we are growing the business very nicely, both online and on Amazon.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So in late 2018, I get a call from my good friend Vinette. She's telling us about a portfolio beauty brands that was owned by private equity to compete with some of the big guys. It was not doing very well. And they asked us to look at the business and possibly buy the business. Two months later, they were getting in worse situation and they were going to file for bankruptcy. At that point, we looked at it again and the benefits to bankruptcy is that it kind of hits a reset. So any bad contracts, any old monies owed and things like that all go away and you're able to start on a new slate and go forward from there. And we now run a company called AS Beauty, which owns the assets and the company of Laura Geller Beauty, Julep, and we closed on that deal in February 2019.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Beauty business is trendy, it's quick, there's virality, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of M&A deal, like there's a lot going on. The fitness business is, I'm sure you own a yoga mat. When's the next time you buy your next yoga mat? So the velocity is a lot slower and it's less exciting.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. So, yes, we have relationships with retailers, we sell to Target and Walmart and Amazon. We are making the product, but they maintain the brand. That's their job. And our job is to operate the company together with them create great products.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, the way we look at Fit for Life is anything that you see in a gym that's not a machine. So any of the mats of the small weights of jump ropes weighted vests all that, those are the things that we do.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I think within a year, maybe less, you started a new company that you called Fit for Life. And I guess I should explain because it's kind of a cool concept because I guess you basically partner with big brands like Reebok or Gaiam, which does yoga products and fila. And you basically get the licensing rights to sell products with their branding on them.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so my father and I officially left Elf in December 2015, and I vividly recall one morning when my kids got up to go to school and I sat down on the couch and I started watching House of Cards. And then a few hours later, my kids came home from school and I was still watching House of Cards. And I'm like, I can't do this anymore. And at that point, we were working on something else, but it was taking a long time. But I knew that retirement life at 35 years old was not for me.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, so you are out of the picture, but you now really have created wealth, significant wealth for yourself, and in a way that you can kind of just, I don't know, do whatever you want. You can invest money. You can do nothing for a while. And I guess for a while, you actually did not much. But tell me about that period, because it sounds like you actually were not happy.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, we worked with Terrangan team for about a year and a half, a little bit more, but it was probably the most impactful two years of my career Because I call it my master's program. Because I was able to learn how it's done on the other side, how Clorox execs and PNG execs and like how they look at the business, how they structure teams. It's a mixture. It's a blend of the entrepreneurial spirit and the best in class work.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So that was when we were telling to L'Oreal, we were telling 100% of the company when we met TPG, they're like, no, we really like, we bring to the table. We want you guys to roll equity with us, and we want you to stay involved and stay as equity holders. And I remember when they finally gave us a firm offer, and the offer was, we're going to buy a majority stake in the company and we're going to bring in a CEO to lead the company. It was like a wait. Lifted it off of me. And I'm like, wait, it's not going to be my problem anymore, but I'm still going to have equity and upside. It just, it was like a freeing experience. And they brought in a CEO, Tarangamine.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“TPG comes in. This is a different company, right? Different private equity, and they come in to buy a majority stake from you and your dad, and they value the company at $265 million. So they're going to buy a majority stake, which means that you guys are going to hold on to a sliver of the company.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was crushing in the moment, but in hindsight, it's such a blip on the radar of what it's become and how much money we subsequently have made through this that it was a blessing in disguise. And in 2013, we regrouped and then we did a process, and that's how we got TPG.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So at the same time that they pulled out of the elf deal, they also bought a different company called Urban Decay. So, I think they were trying to just play both sides or see what got them to the finish line. They blamed it on the fact that they couldn't get comfortable with our supply chain and that we were so low cost and they had some, they weren't comfortable with it. But I think that it was really because they were focused on the urban decay deal.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So it was actually Revlon that reached out first. Okay. And after I got a call from Revlon, I called my good friend Vinette and I said, Vinette, what do I do? So she goes, okay, you guys are still early. Normally these take a few more years, but you guys are killing it. You're really doing so well so quickly. Like, let's run another process. So we met now with more strategics we're interested. And actually L'Oreal came through with the best offer. They offered us about 225 million dollars for the whole company. And we were very excited at that point. And we were ready to sign. And now this is lock, stock, and barrel. We're selling the whole company. We are done. We did it 12 years ago. We started. We're getting our checks. We're leaving. And all of a sudden, Binette calls and she said, L'Oreal's passing. It wasn't happening.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So basically, you drank two of these a day and your skin was clearer. Scott found a partner for Borba, and he took the Borba business. They bought our steak out, and they took it, that business, and then we stuck with the elf business. So it was a very amicable split. Since then, Scott and I have lost touch. I think the Borba business never really took off. I believe Scott Became a pastor at some point. I don't know.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So Scott left a little before that. Scott left in 2008 Scott came to us, my father and I, and we started another business called Borba, which was a nutraceutical beverage. And the concept of the beverage was its skincare through nutrition.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was the most impactful. You know, the stress of your life is now, it's much less. You're not stressed on are you going to make it. You're excited about what the future is going to bring.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“If I didn't sell, but I don't regret what I did one minute of one day. And I always say elf has had subsequent liquidation events over the last ten years since then. This was the smallest, by far the smallest.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So there are situations like that, but because ELF didn't need their additional capital, so all the money, you know, a few things change that you have things you can't do. So I can't sell the company without them. I can't hire some crazy salary. Like there's a few guardrails, but for the most part, there was very little difference from the day before we closed to the day after we closed, except on the... Ownership structure, we now had a partner.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Got it. Okay, so you get bids and you end up accepting an offer from a private equity firm TSG consumer partners. Yes. And they're going to take a minority share. So 49% you guys are still going to own a majority of the company.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The first reason was we had an opportunity to do something for the family, which was perhaps not generational wealth, but wealth for definitely more money than I've made in my life. I was 29 years old. I was able to put money away. And if everything else fell apart, I would still have financial flexibility. And the second reason was I didn't know what I didn't know. Maybe L'Oreal and Revlon were working on the next thing to take me out in 30 seconds. I had no idea. And then the third thing was really just like it's not what you know, it's who you know. So I think being connected with these guys who are in this private equity world that are selling companies every day, they know the steps. They know the game plan to make you sail ready for the future.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Who is she? Her name is Vinett Ho. She was at a small boutique investment banking firm called Financo, and she said, you know, this is what we do. We'll take you to potential investors. Then we'll narrow the field. We'll ask for indications of interest. And then we'll get some final offers and we'll see what we want to do. And we'll start with the $25,000 retainer. I said, this all sounds nice, but I don't know you and I'm not giving you $55,000 on a hope that this is actually going to work out. So she came back and she said, okay, we're going to waive the retainer, but we want to do this process with you. We really like the company you're building. And I remember we got a lot of private equity interest.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I got a call. It was January 2010. And this woman calls me as a cold call. And she's like, I see what you're doing. And we'd love to kind of represent you and seek a sale process.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, we take a day off. It's a great rest day, and it really gives time for family. But other than that, if you're not sleeping, you're working.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you have immediacy of cash. So now I don't have to wait. When I sell to Target or if I sell to retailers, I buy the goods, ship the goods, then get paid sixty or ninety days later, as opposed to the internet business, I'm able to get paid right away. So we're really able to grow from 10 to 20 to 30 million with very little additional debt or leverage.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I remember at the end of 2010 we were doing about $30 million in sales. And we were able to do it a lot because of the mix of business between web and retail was a great mix for a growing business because when you're operating on web business, you have a high margin business. Sure.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And L'Oreal launched a brand called HIP to compete with Mac. And the major premise of both those brands was we are going to sell more expensive cosmetics in the drugstore arena. We are going to compete with Sephora at Dwayne Reed at CVS. And that was an utter failure. That failed miserably quickly. And that is really what opened the door for elf cosmetics to get shelf space a target and really continue to become a brand that's thriving in the retailer space.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Not only did we see it happen in real time, it's what propelled our success because, like you said, in 2007 and 2008, during the financial crisis, it happened to be at the same time that Revlon launched a brand called Vital Radiance. Now you probably don't remember, ever heard of it. I don't.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Biggest win was our ability to compete on everything you do in the Food and Drug Mass Arena is sales per linear foot. So if you're in a four foot section, they want to know how much volume, how many sales you're going to do per foot on that four foot basis. So when Elf first launched in Target, they were forecasted to do sixty dollars for linear foot per store per week. Out of the gate, we were at $100 per store per week. So we were already performing on par or better than a lot of the expectations and a lot of the competitors.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Of my buyers told me a long time ago something that really stuck with me Price is what you pay and value is what you get. And as long as we're committed to continuing to offer our customer extreme value, she doesn't want us to be stuck to the $1 price point. Because if we could take a $35 item that they get at Prestige Retail and bring it down for $3, she wants that. If it's a $12 lip gloss that we can bring for a dollar, she wants that. But it just needs to continue to convey value.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes and no. The same quality of product was offered on both the Elf and Elf studio. However, often the Elf Studio was dual-ended. It also was bigger. So if this was one ounce, this was one and a half or two ounces. It had a little bit more pearlescence. But for the most part, we stood behind the quality of both the Elf and the Elf Studio line.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So they wanted us to increase the price, but not of our everyday merchandise. They appreciated the incrementality and impulsivity claims that we were making, but they still felt that we needed to continue to grow the price point. So at the time, we're launching a small line called ELF Studio. And basically, if we had a four-foot section in Target, half of the section was a dollar and half of the section was now $3.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This was like pinched me. Am I dreaming? Like, It was like the premiere retailer, first of all. Target was always like the retailer growing up because my father was doing business with them. It was in line with our values. It was perfect. Now this was November 2008 for holiday 2009. So still 11 months away. You don't ship till October for that. But we were like, we are in.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I mean, this is, you know, when you walk into Target, they have what they call the racetrack. This is on the end. Like every cart is passing this thing.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So actually in 2008, I get a call from Target. Now we had a very small relationship with Target. We were in the trial and travel section. And the Target buyer said, what if Elf made us a holiday end cap program for our stores?”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, talk about trial by fire. Okay, so you get through this, but now you've got real sales, right? And I guess it's around this time where you managed to finally convince Target to let you in”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We had to find a warehouse. We had to make the goods. We had to create a system to pick and pack the goods. And all this was done on the fly as the order velocity was continuing. And it took about six to eight weeks. And we shipped 192,000 orders. From China direct to customers in the US, and then that really, you know, that year we were projected to do $2 million for the year. After this spike, we did about $8 million. We were profitable.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I got on a plane and I went to our factories in China. I went with our agent and we had to figure it out. I remember when my first got to China, our first or second night there, I called my father and I'm like, I don't know what to do. Like, this is too much. I can't do this. And I remember I was on my Blackberry in the elevator, and he tells me, this is it. You either figure this out or we pack up and go home. Like, this is what you built. This is what you wanted to do. This is your opportunity.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That our excitement was great. This is, I mean, the orders were coming in rapid fire, but we didn't have the inventory to support those orders. We didn't have the process to reorder, to pick, to pack, to do anything. So we didn't know where it was going to stabilize or what it was going to mean in the long term. But right then, we were just drinking from a fire hose and we were just trying to figure out how do we get these orders to our customers? How do we continue to build off this virality and find ways to take this to the next level?”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. I mean, so we were getting about 300 orders a week at the time, depending on the virality. We went from getting 300 orders a week to 18,000 orders a day for the next six weeks.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Was just an email. It was one of these we have no idea where it started till today. And everybody got it. My target buyer got it. My aunt in California got it. My cousin, everyone you spoke to till today when I say elf cosmetics, they say, oh, I got an email that you were being bought by Bloomingdale's in 2006”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, I always tell everyone if I manufactured it, I would have done it over and over and over again. So, I definitely can't take credit for it. But it was September 2006. And we had just come back from another industry trade show. And I remember we were in a recap meeting with, we had a sales rep at the time who was there. And we were all of a sudden the phone rang. And outside of being the CEO of the company, I was also the receptionist and the customer service care rep. So I answered the phone and she says, the woman says, is this elf cosmetics? And I said, yes. And she says, is it true? I said, is what true? She said, I just got an email that you're being bought by Bloomingdale's and that all your cosmetics are going up in price. I said, I don't news to me. And then I checked the website and all of a sudden we see orders coming in by the tens and hundreds.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. And there's only four flavors of Slim Gyms, right? We have 67 items. I remember in the early years, we were making money and I told my, like maybe a little later, but I said, okay, the company made money. Where's my share? And my father turned to me. He goes, he laughed. He's like, no, no. You got to invest that back in. You have to do it again. And then eventually you'll get there. But that's kind of that was my naivete.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, you have to be anywhere and everywhere, and you have to constantly be shipping it in. Because even if you said our four-sided spinorack held 954 pieces, but once you sell 954 pieces, you have to send in another 954 pieces. So there was a lot. Like if a $10 item was needed to do $1,000 in sales, they were only need to sell 100 items. We need to sell $900.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Failing. Not being able to, you know, my father was still helping fund this. We were narrowing the gap, baby. But like, how big can Big be? I'm selling dollar cosmetics. Where do we go from here? Where's Target? Where's Walmart? Where's Walgreens? Where's the big guys? Like, how do I, I'm competing with Covergirl and Revlon and L'Oreal. Like these guys. Control the space.”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Still sleepless nights. There's a large hill to climb. A to be profitable and then B2B successful. So like, how are we really going to get to the top of the mountain, so to speak?”
2026-06-29 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT